The popularity of electronic telecommunication devices (TDs) has increased tremendously in recent years. For example, it has been estimated that there are above five billion cell phone subscribers in the world. This increase in popularity also brings with it the need for effective and accurate locating methods of these TDs. The need to determine the location of a mobile telecommunication device may come from emergency services, public safety, and other situations such as lost of the mobile communication device.
Locating of mobile telecommunication devices consists in determining the geographical latitude, longitude and elevation of a mobile electronic telecommunication device (TD), within a confidence interval. A number of technologies have been introduced to determine the geographic location of a mobile device.
There are three most commonly used location technologies: stand-alone, satellite-based, and terrestrial radio-based. The method introduced in this patent is radio-based which typically uses base stations emitting radio signals to the mobile receiver to determine the position of its user. Signals can also be emitted from the mobile device to the base. For example, triangulation and/or arcuation methods that measure the signal strength received from three or more neighboring cells stations (Sensors) can be used to determine an approximate location of the mobile station.
Unfortunately, there are some challenges in determining the exact location of the mobile phone caller. Usually the information from the closest sensor (cell tower) can provide a very general indication of the caller's location; however it is not specific enough to determine the exact location which could be critical in situations such as emergency situations, rescue operations or loss of the telecommunication device.
There is a need for improved methods to locate mobile telecommunication devices more accurately and with a high degree of confidence.